Improvement in automatic car-brakes



C. M. WILKINS. Automatic Car-Brake.

'.No. 220,010. Patented sept. 23, 1879.

l WITNESSBS: INVENTORY:

MM@ M ATTORNEYS.

MFEIERS. Fl-lom-uTHDGRAFNER, WASHINGTON n c UNITED STAT-Es IlleurnivfrAOFFICE.

OOOLEY M. WILKIN S, OF ASHTABLA, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT TOH. M. FICKINGER, OF SAME PLAGE. l

IMPROVEMENT IN AUTOMATIC CAR-BRAKES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 220,010, datedSeptember 23, 1879; application led July 25, 1879.

' to the accompanying drawings, forming part' of this specication, inwhich- Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section through line w m ofFig. 2. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan view.

My invention relates to an improved automatic car-brake designed to beapplied by the impact or momentum of the cars coming together when thelocomotive is slowed up 7 or the brakes are applied to the same.

The invention is an improvement upon that general form of car -brake inwhich a longitudinal bar runs the full length of the car beneath thesame, and `terminates in heads, so that when the cars are slowed upthese heads on the adjacent cars strike together, and by a longitudinalmovement of said bars apply the brakes. Y `The invention consists in the.peculiar construction of devices for applying the eiect of thelongitudinal bar, in the means for strengthening and bracing the same,and in the means for holding the brakes applied until the cars startagain, as hereinafter described.

In the drawings, A represents the platform of a car, sustained upon thewheels B B. C C are two longitudinal beams arranged beneath thecar-door, and running parallel with each other throughout the length ofthe car. Between these beams, at the ends of the car, are arranged thedraw-bars D D, which are made spring-seated or yielding in theirconnection with the car, so that they have a slight movement between thebeams D D, to break the abruptness of the start or impact of the cars.

E E are the brake-bars, which are provided with brake-shoes a, and aresuspended from the bottom of the car by means of hangers F F, which 'arein the nature of ilat springs. These brake-barsare pivoted to levers bb,

' whose lower and shorter ends are loosely connected by a rod, c, whiletheir longer ends project upwardly.

G is the buffer-bar, whichis made in the form of a double bar, runningthe full length of the car, and terminating in heads at the ends in thesame vertical plane with the faces of the draw-bar, which headsv come incontact with corresponding heads on the buffer-bar of the adjacent car.This buffer-bar is swung in frames d d, pivoted at each end ofthe carbetween the beams C C, whichframes are extended above the beams C O, andare connected by a tie-rod, f, and are provided also with a loop orkeeper, e. Said buffer-bar G is also provided with pins h h', connectingthe two sections of the bar, which pins bear against the upper ends oflevers b b, which extend through the opening in the bar, so that'whenthe locomotive is slowed up or the brakes applied to thesame, no matterwhich end of the car is struck by the adjacent car, one of the pins, hor h', strikes one ofthe levers b, and by drawing the brake-barstogether applies the shoes of each to the wheels.

If the impact occurs at the right-hand end of the car, the pin h actson'the lever b to produce this result, while if the impact occurs at theleft-hand end of the car the pin h acts to produce the same result.

As the bar G is of considerable length and comparatively smalltransverse dimension, it would under ordinary circumstances be liablelto bend or buckle in transmitting theforce of the impact. Thisdifficulty, it vwill be seen, however, 1s provided against by the rod f,which, in tying the upper ends of the frames d d together, braces andstiftens the bar G against bending. j

, After the brakes have been applied by the concussion oi' the carsagainst `each other, it will be seen that they would be immediatelyreleased again by the reaction of the impact,

and thus lose their usefulI eect. To retain the benet of this impact, Ivpivot t0 the buffer-bar G, at each end of the car, a catch, fi, whoseupper end is retainedl in thekeeper e. Now, when the buffer -bar G isdriven" back and the brakes applied, the catch i drops down into thelower end of the keeper e, in which position it catches behind the rearedge of the drawbar, as shown in dotted line, holding the brakesapplied, and in which position it is retained until the car startsagain. As soon as the car starts, the traction upon the movable drawbarallows the latter to be pulled away from the catch, and the spring ofthe hangers of the brake-bars causes the parts to resume their normalposition. This locking device is specially desirable on longfreight-trains; but in passen ger-trains I may dispense with the same.

For applying the brakes independently of' the automatic actiondescribed, I may employ an ordinary form of vertical brake-shaft andhand wheel,j, in connection with a chain, k, connected to the buffer-barG.

For rendering the pressure of the brakeshoes elastic, the bar carryingthe same may have a spring-seated connection, l, with the lever b,through which the brakes are applied. This, it will be seen, relievesany sudden or violent strain caused by the driving in of the buffer-barbeyond its usual range of movement.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. The double orslotted buer-bar Gr, hav ing pins h h', and made longitudinallyadjustable, in combination with the brake-bars, the connecting-rod c,and the levers b b, having their upper ends disconnected from thebufferbar, so as to be acted upon independently by the same,substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the longitudinallyadjustable buffer-bar,connected with and designed to operate the brakes, of the pivoted framesd, having their upper ends extended above their pivots, and connected bya tierod, f, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. The combination of the buffer-bar G, the pvoted frames d, having loopor keeper e, the catch i, and the yielding draw-bar, substantially asand for the purpose described.

The above specification of my invention signed by me this 10th day ofJuly, 1879.

C. M. WILKINS.

Witnesses:

SoLoN C. KEMoN, EDWD. W. BYRN.

